The Archipelago
The Archipelago is a collection of islands on the southern tip of one of the continents of Choll. It is a region of flourishing technology where magic and psionics work side by side. Religious practices have largely fallen to the wayside and most gods get little more than a quick prayer under the breath or a few coins in a shrine. Only a handful of proper churches exist and the profession of priest is a rare one. Generators and steam powered machines are common in most regions, though more advanced technologies require the assitance of mages to form the arcanomechanical creations that are the most impressive. Despite the constant wars of centuries past, the modern countries of the Archipelago have settled into uneasy peaces. Rivalries, trade relations, complex politics and double dealings are abound, and each keeps a standing army for if and when something goes foul. Stability and peace has been a constant for the last two hundred years, known lands are settled and recently the eyes of the more ambitious have turned towards the jungles of Tharbe to the north. Avardine - During the Upheaval a deity of undeath and magic crashed to the ground, leaving a massive crater in the ground. A shockwave flew from the site of his grave, creating a massive desecrated region where undead flourished. The humans turned to necromancy as a way to keep the undead population in check. Hundreds of years later, necromancy has become a common practice, undead walk the streets. Undead and necromancy are not viewed as inately evil and many neutral undead live in the cities as respected figures. The citizens are also known for their distrubingly close ties to the dead. 'Caspa - '''The teifling home kingdom. These days the nation is an area of racial diversity, known for technological ability more than anything else largely due to the tiefling population. It is a rugged land sporting almost countless mines with abandoned cities and keeps alongside each forgotten mine. For this reason it is a hotly contested nation with assaults on its borders from the southern and eastern borders a few times a century. It is ruled by Graz'zt, rumored to be a demon lord of old. 'Gilesdour - 'A nation that was originally founded as a colony of Ordos. For many years it served as the Ordos connection to the dwarven keep of Rorchgan Keep. Today it has severed many ties with Ordos, still viewing them as a trading partner. They are incredibly expansionist, known for assassination and dirty political dealings as much as the valued dwarven wares and resources the country provides. 'Monte Island - 'The least organized of the official countries. Monte Island is little more than a collection of individual city states unaffiliated except in event of invasion. They value their independance and are willing to take in any person without bias for criminal history or other issues. For this reason the island is known for pirate havens, criminal activity, it's black market and refugees but more so than any other nation, it is a diverse. Laws and culture can change from city to city. 'Ordos - 'The largest nation in terms of size and population. Known for it's extensive trade routes, massive cities with smog filled skies, and the almost caste-like divide between the poor and rich and what used to be an expansionist philosophy, albeit one that has largely falled by the wayside. 'Unified Republic of Raegor - 'The Northwestern most island, originally a monstrous wasteland entirely comprised of monstrous races ranging from goblinoids to giants. The wilds are still as bad, but the monstrous races have bred with the humans came to the continent, resulting in roughly seventy percent of the population having at least partial monster blood. Cities are filled with creatures ranging from humans to minotaur and beyond. 'Tharbe - '''The northmost large island of the archipelago. The climate shifts drastically over the few miles of ocean towards the north, going from temperate but warm to humid. Past this island is a much larger continent, both the island and further continent being covered in massive trees and filled with strange nomadic peoples, savagaes with brutal weapons made of wood, bone and stone.